Refrigerator-car-hatch plug.



E. A. NIX, J. J. DOWLING & H. A. BURSLEY. REFRIGERATOR GAB. HATCH PLUG.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 13, 1912.

1 092344. Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

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WITNESSES UT T A EDWARD A. NIX, JOHN J. DOWLING, AND HENRY A. BURSLEY, OF NEW onrinans,

LOUISIANA.

REFRIGERATOR-CAR-HATGH PLUG.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Application filed November 18, 1912.

Patented Apr. ML, 193%. Serial No. 732.119.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD A. NIX, JOHN J. DOWLING, and HENRY A. BURsLnY, citizens of the United States, residing at the city of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerator-Oar-Hatch Plugs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a refrigerator hatch plug or closure.

In refrigerator cars now in general use the hatch plug is usually provided with packing on its edges and is driven down into the beveled or tapering hatch until the plug has tight engagement therewith. The plugs are difficult to remove and as the result of the pressure necessary for driving the plug tightly to its seat, the corners of the hatch way are spread, permitting the escape of air through the openings or hatch ways around the edges of the plugs. Furthermore, the plugs are diflicult to remove because they swell incident to moisure and when once driven tightly into their seats the moisture causes such a firm seating of the plugs or closures as to render it exceedingly difiicult to remove the plugs or closures.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a hatch plug or closure which may be readily seated in the hatch way and secured therein in operative position without danger of spreading the sides of the hatch way.

Another object is to provide a plug or closure of the nature stated embodying among other characteristics means whereby the escape of air from the car may be prevented without fitting the plug or closure so tightly in the hatch way as to cause it to stick therein incident to swelling due to moisture.

With the above and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, proportion, size and minor details without departing from the spirit or sacri ficing any of the advantages of the inven tion.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of our invention positioned in a reto the bottom of frigerator car hatch way. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view illustrating the locking connection between the plug or closure and the hatch way.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings the reference characters 5 and 6 indicate the side and end walls, respectively, of a hatch way of a refrigerator car or other, vehicle or an opening in any character of refrigerator. The side and end walls of hatch ways of refrigerator cars generally taper, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and secured in this instance in any suitable manner to the inner faces of the side and end members 5 and 6 are ledges 7. These ledges 7 form sup ports for the hatch way plug or closure 8. The edges of the plug or closure 8 preferably taper to conform with the taper of the side and end walls 5 and 6 but the plug or closure is adapted to be moved vertically into and out of the hatch way freely so that it may be readily and easily seated on the supporting ledges 7 or disengaged therefrom.

Secured to the under side of the plug or closure 8 around the edges thereof in any desired manner, is suitable packing 9. This packing may be positioned in the groove 8' and inclosed within canvas material secured the plug or closure and along the side edges thereof in any suitable manner. In any event, the packing material is preferably yieldable and is adapted to engage the supporting ledges for the purpose of effecting an air tight joint between the edges of the plug or closure and the walls of the hatch way so as to prevent the ingress and egress of air. To force the yieldable packing into tight engagement with the ledges 7 and to lock the plug or closure 8 against displacement, there is provided suitable pressure exerting means operable on the plug or closure to effect both of these functions. One way in which this may be accomplished is to secure in suitable bearings 10 a rock shaft 11 whose ends are provided with crank bends 12 which project beyond the ends of the plug or closure. On the inner faces of the end walls of the hatch way are recesses 13 which have shoulders 14 projecting thereinto with which shoulders the crank bends 12 of the rock shaft are adapted to co5perate. These projecting shoulders 14: may be reinforced by metallic plates or other suitable means 15 so as to prevent undue wear by the crank bends 12 on these projecting shoulders 14. The rock shaft 11 is provided with a lever 16 and by grasping the lever 16 and moving it to a substantially vertical position and thereby rocking the shaft 11, the plug or closure 8 may be let down vertically into the hatch way with the crank bends 12 passing between the shoulders 14 and the adjacent wall of thereeesses 13 until the plug or closure is seated upon the ledges 7 The lever 16 may then be thrown down toward the plug or closure to present the slot 17 of the lever 16 to a staple 18 carried by the plug or closure. Such positioning of the lever 16 causes the crank bends 12 of the rock shaft to pass beneath the shoulders 14: of the recesses 13 so that the plug or closure cannot be lifted from the ledges 7 until the lever 16 is thrown upwardly to a substantiallyvertical position and whereby, by virtue of the'binding action of the crank bends 12 against the shoulders 14:, the yieldable packing 9 is forced tightly into engagement with the supporting Y ledges or seat 7. To prevent rattling and I accidental disconnection of the lever 16 with relation to the staple 18 there is preferably pivotally secured on the lever 16 a latch 19 adapted to be swung through the staple 1S and lock the lever 16 against upward swing- If desired, a common type of car seal may be secured to the staple 18 to seal the plug or closure against being opened surreptitiously by an unauthorized person without knowledge of the proper railroad official. Vi l1ether the common type of 1 car seal be employed, the latch 19 preferably has such coiiperation with the staple 18 as to prevent the lever 16 from working loose incident to the jolting of the car in transit.

' If desired, suitable hand or finger rings 2l'may be secured to the plug or closure for the purpose of effecting a positioning of the plug or closure or to permit of ready removal of the same from the hatch way.

Hatch ways ofrefrigerator cars are usually provided with a closure 20 which is generally hingedly connected to the hatch way but this forms no part of the present invention.

It will thus be seen that when the rock shaft 11 is rocked-upon shifting of the lever 16 to its locking position, that there is such a binding or cam action between the ends of 'the rock shaft and the shoulders 14 of the recesses 13 as to effect a tight joint between the hatclr-wa'y and the plug or closure, whether the plug or-closure be'employed in the hatch ways of refrigerator cars or in the hatch ways or other openings of vehicles, vessels, or receptacles.

WVhat is claimed is:

The combination of'a tapering hatch way provided with a supportingledge and with recesses in opposite walls formed with flaring mouths with one wall of each mouth of each recess projecting "part way across the corresponding recess to form a'shoulder, a

closure for the hatch way adapted to rest on said ledge and whose sides taper to provide for the wedging fit ofthe closure in the tapering hatch way, a rock shaft secured to the closure and havin its ends provided with bends, and means for rocking the shaft to'throw said bends into said recesses and past said shoulders and thereby throw the bends into and out of cooperative connection with the under sides of said shoulders so as to lock and unlock the closure.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names, this 16th day of November, 1912.

EDWARD A. NIX. JOHN J. DOWLING. HENRY A. BURSLEY.

Witnesses:

H. J. LEDOUX, CHESTER W. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

